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When it comes to conditioning, you should consider the specific demands of the sport you're training for.  For youth athletes, hopefully they're participating in several sports throughout the calendar year.  Multi-sport athletes will naturally perform different types of conditioning simply through playing each sport, and will reap the benefits in their other sports.  However, when it's baseball season, here are some things to consider regarding how to properly condition:

A new concussion law in California was enacted on January 1^st, 2017. It is an amendment of a previous law that covered high school athletes that now covers all athletes under the age of 18. Its’ purpose is to provide specific safety protocols in order to protect athletes from injury. “This bill places California at the forefront of improving concussion management at the youth sports level” said Mike Chisar of the California Athletic Trainers’ Association. “It will help ensure the appropriate steps are taken so our coaches, parents and athletes are educated on the signs and symptoms of concussion, and help minimize the risk of serious injury.”

The new law aims at 

1.     Choose you.

Aside from the physical and mental benefits of exercise, deciding to start an exercise plan starts with you. Your doctor, your family, your friends, your co-workers can tell you how much you need to workout but it won’t stick unless you decide for yourself that you want to do it. Choose you.

2.     Try something new.

Often we get stuck in a routine and are scared to try something new. Trade out what you have done in the past and try something new like a spin class, go hiking, weight training class, or come into Compete :)

3.     Find a good support group.

You are only as good as the people you choose to surround yourself with. On the days that you don't want to workout or life gets crazy, find family and friends that will encourage you to reach your goals and stick to your workout routine.

Integrating explosive high-speed exercises in your training can improve athletic performance and promote the growth of lean muscle tissue. An explosive exercise is one in which you generate a great amount of force and move fast for a short period of time. These represent your jumping, sprinting, med ball tossing, and olympic lifting exercises. Explosive activity triggers muscle hypertrophy and mobilizes fat burning hormones creating both muscle mass and a lean appearance. The theory is that creating muscle tension at high speed causes micro tears in the muscle, which will promote tissue growth and repair at a cellular level. In addition, 

It's very common for ballplayers to experience soreness and fatigue in their throwing arms.  Kids are either playing year round, or playing in tournaments that cram multiple games into several days.  Even with league mandated pitch counts, every player throws the ball, especially the catchers.  So what can you do to help your son or daughter maintain a healthy shoulder?  The first, and most important factor, is rest.  When they have opportunities to rest their arms between games or tournaments, it's a good idea to take advantage of it.  This also includes throwing as a part of 

Groin strains are common injuries in the game of ice hockey. Previous reports in the NHL have shown than up to 10% of all injuries sustained have been due to strains of the groin or adductor muscle group. In today’s NHL, it is a little tougher to note since these injuries are now classified as “lower body” and not specific. The main groin muscles include the adductor longus, magnus and brevis and the gracilis. Their primary function is to bring the leg back towards the middle of the body or adduct the hip. Groin injuries can be debilitating as the muscle group is elongated on the skating stride and contracted on the recovery phase, so it is constantly being stressed. Strains of this nature can cause 

Keys to your post-workout nutrition:

- Shake with ~20g whey protein and 20-40g carbohydrate. 

- Enjoy shake within 30-60 minutes of activity. This will ensure that fast acting protein makes it to muscle tissue that needs while topping off all used glucose (carbohydrate) stores. 

- Enjoy balanced meal within 1-3 hours after activity. Tip - sprinkle of salt on your food. 

Nutrition Facts

ü  How many grams of protein do I need per day for muscle recovery/gain?